Issues at Work
by ausherlock
Summary: With Mrs. Hudson out for the week, Sherlock has no babysitter for John. Lestrade comes with a case and Sherlock has no choice but to take John along. Puppy!John (Part 6 of Tiny Companion)
1. Chapter 1

Sherlock frowned as he looked at the receipt for the pet shop. Was there really a reason dog food was so expensive? If he felt like it, he could make a better meal for John than what he bought at the store. He didn't realize that there was so many brands and varieties out there. Though, the ten brands of wet and dry dog food should give him enough to experiment on to make a healthy mix for John. He unlocked the front door and walked inside the flat, hefting the bags of food onto his forearms. It wasn't long until he heard tiny claws scrabbling for purchase on the floor above. John skidded to a halt at the top of the staircase, his tongue hanging out.

He barked happily as Sherlock made his way upstairs to their flat. Sherlock tried not to trip as John ran around his legs once he made it upstairs and walked into the living room. Heading straight for the kitchen, Sherlock dropped the bags by the counter and went to hang up his coat. John rubbed his leg as he passed and sniffed at the bag. Sticking his head into one, he huffed before turning to look for his owner. Sherlock finished hanging up his coat and turned to see John waiting for him patiently.

Could he ask for a better flatmate? He bent down one knee, allowing John clamor into his arms. John squirmed a little to get comfortable, nudging Sherlock's face for more attention.

"Hello, John. I bought a variety of products for you to try from the shop. I don't understand the need for inept shop clerks. There couldn't even answer my questions about the chemicals they used to treat the food." Sherlock said.

John nuzzled Sherlock's neck, raising himself on his hind legs and placing his paws on Sherlock's chest. Sherlock huffed and relented to the sniffing and the licking all over his chin. It was a routine that John seemed to revel in. Sherlock figured that John was figuring out where he had went. He ruffled the fur on his back and stood up carefully. He didn't want to dislodge John after all. The small moment they were sharing was broken by the sound of Sherlock's mobile going off.

John perked his ears up and looked over Sherlock's shoulder to peek at his mobile on the coffee table. Sherlock carried John as he went into the living room to fetch his mobile. He moved the pup to his other arm to free his hand and took a look at the text he was sent. Wonderful. A case. Pity he wouldn't be able to work on his dog food experiment right away.

**Double homicide downtown. Bodies have some weird writings on them. Coming? GL**

Sherlock was already racing ahead with his thoughts at the sings of a case. If he was lucky, it could be a serial killer running around. He hadn't gotten any interesting cases like this since the beheaded corpses a few months ago. That had been an exciting case. It took some real passion and strength to lop off a head. Sending off a text that he was one his way, he put John on the floor. He brushed off some hairs on his shirt before reaching for his coat. He was about to pluck it off the rack until a loud whine stopped him. He turned his head and inwardly cringed at John's gaze.

John was doing something very disturbing with his eyes that made Sherlock feel all twisty inside. His ears were drooping and his tail was hanging low. He couldn't leave his puppy alone. He was still much too young (not to mention those eyes). Mrs. Hudson was visiting her sister and Mycroft was out the question. The only option was to take John along with him.

He was only a year old but still had some military training. Plus, Sherlock started to teach him to track certain scents in the past few weeks. It was decided then. Lestrade would be grateful for the extra help (if he wanted it or not).

"Go get your leash, John. There's no time to lose."he said.

John quickly jumped up and ran into Sherlock's bedroom. He sped back to Sherlock's feet and dropped his harness and leash in front of him. Sherlock hooked him up, put the leash around the wrist and tucked John under his arm. John was wiggling in excitement at being to go somewhere new with his master. His little nose twitched at the scents that hit his nose once stepping foot outside. Sherlock fought back a smile at seeing John so excited as he put him down, hailing for a taxi. As if like magic, one pulled up to the curb and Sherlock wasted no time in opening the door.

John hopped in as Sherlock sat down, ignoring the cabbie's look at having a dog with him. John was clean and it wasn't like he was going to mess in the cab. Sherlock said the address and rested against the door as the cab took off. John was the perfect example of a trained dog, laying over the detective's feet in wait for their destination. As if feeling his gaze, John glanced up at him and wagged his tail before resting his head back onto his paws. The ride was short to the crime scene, Sherlock making the cabbie pull to the edge of where he could the red and blue lights.

He handed the cabbie a few notes and opened the door, hopping out after John. Sherlock walked towards the taped off scene with John walking in front of him, his limp barely noticeable.

John looked curious at all the activity and was more than ready to do anything to help his master. Sherlock approached the tape and started to pull it up for him to pass before being stopped.

"Hold up, Freak. What do you think your doing here?" Donovan said as she placed her hand on the tape to prevent Sherlock from coming in.

"Lestrade specifically asked for my help. I believe that gives me access to come through. Not that you are doing anything to help solve the crime, obviously."Sherlock said.

John barked at him and sat by his side, giving him an incredulous look. He was getting a lot of looks like that from the puppy lately. What? It wasn't his fault that everyone else was just so brainless. Donovan's attention strayed away from him and to John. Her eyes widened, looking back and forth between the two. She gripped the police tape harder as if to fight the urge to pet John. She didn't even want to know how someone like Sherlock came across such an adorable thing. Sherlock raised an eyebrow at Donovan as she made a small noise as John gave her his signature grin (ears would perk up, the corners of his mouth would turn up slightly and his tongue would hang out his mouth).

At realizing that Sherlock was looking at her, Donovan cleared her throat and called out on her walkie talkie announcing that Sherlock was there. Sherlock smirked and went through, tugging John along with him. She watched Sherlock walk away with the puppy and pinched the bridge of her nose. God, for all she knew the freak were using the puppy for experiments. He didn't deserve an animal with such big blue eyes and such a sweet little smile. Donovan wouldn't question Sherlock about his personal life or why he was even bring the dog on a crime scene. She just hoped Lestrade knew what he was doing.


	2. Chapter 2

Sherlock walked into the alleyway with John, wondering what the deal was with Donovan. He always figured that she had a soft spot for dogs if the calendar on her desk had anything to do with it. He didn't want John anywhere near her. He would probably catch something than would be deadly to animals. And the last thing he wanted to know was if stupidity could affect animals as well as people. Coming closer to where the body awaited for them, he rolled his eyes as Anderson came to block his path.

"What are you doing here, Freak? You can't come and contaminate a crime scene! And you got the nerve to bring a dog with you?"Anderson sneered.

Sherlock rolled his eyes at Anderson and was about to insult him but was cut off by a growl. John put himself in front of Sherlock and growled up at Anderson. Saliva dripped from his muzzle and his lips curled back to show an impressive amount of teeth. Blue eyes stared up at Anderson as if daring him to insult Sherlock again. Anderson took a step back in surprise and mild fright at the sudden hostility. He opened his mouth to say something to Sherlock but moved out the way instead.

John waited until Anderson was out of sight before calming down. He licked his chops of drool and shook himself to smooth the fur down on his body. He looked up to Sherlock with a wagging tail and butted him gently with his head. Sherlock, for once, could say he was surprised by John. He didn't expect John to get protective of him over some simple idiot like Anderson. No one was usually concerned with what any names he was called. He could brush it of as he was ten times smarter than the majority of the Yarders. But John was looking at him as if he expected to be lavished with praise.

Bending down, he gave him a small pat on the head. If he could run off idiots like Anderson, he would be more than useful to him. Sherlock walked to stand by the bodies and raised an eyebrow at the writing on the torso of each victim. So far, everything was very interesting.

"Sherlock? Why did you bring John along? Are you mad?" Lestrade put his hand up once Sherlock started answering, "Don't answer that. You know that could get hair everywhere."

Sherlock shrugged and told John to sit, draping the leash around his shoulders. What was he supposed to do? Leaving John alone had not been an option. He couldn't get down the stairs yet with his healing wound and he could get into Sherlock's experiments. Last thing he needed was John getting into his newest liver with the strain of in E-coli it. He didn't bother to answer the question as he went to check over the bodies. He had more important things to do than Lestrade questioning his pet handling skills.

John watched Sherlock as he worked, somewhat curious of his methods. He sat by Lestrade's side and leaned on him with a wagging tail. Lestrade was amused by the greeting and bent down to scratch at his ears. If only Sherlock could be so kind to him. He watched the genius work with John, an ear open for any deductions that the man would come up with. Sherlock had taken out his pocket magnifier and was trying to figure out what the writing was. It looked like some kind of cuneiform.

"What have you got Sherlock? I need anything that you have."Lestrade said.

Sherlock stood up and circled the bodies once more before speaking. "Cult ritual gone wrong. The leader panicked when she realized that cuts went too deep and the sacrifices bled out. The head nurse from the practice up the street is the culprit."he explained.

Lestrade looked at him in disbelief and wondered how he got that from two random bodies. Sherlock gave him his typical 'are you an idiot?' look and started to go in depth about the smell of antiseptic or some other nonsense. When the detective went to bend down and press a hand to the chest of one of the bodies, John barked at him.

Sherlock startled and watched as John rushed over to him, no limp in sight. He sniffed around both bodies with his head low and ears back. He shared a questioning look with Lestrade and removed his hand. John didn't let up and nudged into Sherlock path as he went to examine the other body. Sherlock figured that John was on to something and backed up out his path. John circled both bodies once more before lying down between them.

"What is he doing, Sherlock? Did he find something or did you train him to do that?"Lestrade asked as he took a few steps towards the bodies.

He didn't get too far as John gave off a warning growl at him. Sherlock had a thoughtful look on his face before he realized why John was acting like that. Stupid! He had even read the file on his training, even if it had gone unfinished. He could smack himself for not seeing it earlier.

"No but his former handler had. That is his sign for that theirs a bomb in the area. They're in the bodies, of course. That's why he didn't want me to touch the chest. It's probably activated by a pressure switch."Sherlock said, watching Lestrade turn as white as a sheet.

The DI rubbed a hand on his face and took a step back. Good thing he didn't let his team touch the bodies and only take pictures. They would have been blown sky high by now. He watched as John wag his tail once they got the message. The pup walked back to Sherlock's side and waited for some form of praise. Lestrade wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it for himself. Sherlock bent down and scratched John behind the ears, murmuring soft praises to him. It was strangely tender of Sherlock and Lestrade felt like he was intruding on a moment.

Still, he had much bigger things to do after all. "You can go, Sherlock. Thanks for the help too, John."he said as he gave John a pat before barking out orders and calling for the bomb squad.

The detective and his pup watched Lestrade walk out the alleyway and leaving the two. Sherlock attached the leash to John's harness and stood up. The case had been easy to solve but it was much more interesting to see John in action. Maybe he would keep up with John's training and add his own. Ugh. It would mean having to talk to Mycroft and see what if he could get a trainer for him. He figured that Lestrade would deny him access to one of the Yard's trainers.

Plus, if this kept up, he would be able to take John on more cases. He was already a very helpful assistant. Scaring Anderson was just a bonus along with his skills. He strode out the alleyway with John by his side, ignoring the stares that he got as he walked past. John was his focal point and if he hadn't thought it possible, was getting much more interesting.


End file.
